Even the most ardent market optimists were admitting that the absurd bubble that had developed over the course of the summer was completely unsustainable, and the only real debate was over when it would finally burst.  So is this it?  Stock prices have certainly plunged quite dramatically over the last several trading sessions, but it is always possible that things could stabilize for a little while.  But whether it happens in September, October, November, December or next year, the truth is that everyone knows that a crash is coming.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell another 632 points, but that wasn't the real story.  Far more noteworthy was the fact that the Nasdaq was down another 4.1 percent, and that means that it has now dropped a total of more than 10 percent since it hit a brand new record high last week.

Only two times since 2001 has the Nasdaq fallen more rapidly over three trading sessions.  The index is now officially in correction territory, and the losses have been staggering.  In particular, the six largest tech stocks have collectively lost more than a trillion dollars in value during this three day stretch…